Displaced Cleveland Fan

Can it get any worse for the Browns?

The Browns were playing host to the Houston Texans on Sunday. This is the Houston team that came in with a 3-7 record, 8 consecutive road losses, and had backup Sage Rosenfels starting at QB. Great chance to pick up a home win in the middle of an already disappointing season. And what do the Browns do? They play like the Michigan Wolverines.

I couldn’t watch the game here. But from what I’ve read about it, that’s probably a good thing.

The Browns defense let Rosenfels pick them apart, throwing for 275 yards and a touchdown while completing 75% of his passes. They did manage to pick off two passes. But your defense can come up with 18 interceptions and it won’t matter if the offense can’t move the ball.

Brady Quinn had an off game. Every quarterback is going to have one every once in a while. But for some reason, Romeo Crennel decided to pull Quinn in the 3rd quarter for Derek Anderson. What?! Sure, Brady was having an off game. But come on, he was not that bad. Not as bad as D.A. has been at times this year.

Before being pulled, Brady was 8 for 18 (44%) for 94 yards with 2 interceptions. Instead of letting the first round draft pick finish his third career start, Crennel put in Anderson. He thought maybe that would provide a “spark.” If he’s willing to pull Quinn, why not just play Ken Dorsey? Or hey, put Josh Cribbs in at QB. We know D.A. can’t get it done.

So this “spark” resulted in Derek Anderson going 5 for 14 (36%) for 51 yards with one interception and one lost fumble. Surprised? I’m not. That’s about what I would expect from Anderson this year.

Braylon Edwards didn’t help either QB, adding 3 drops to his NFL leading total. He needs to stay off the field.

Please tell me this is the end for Romeo Crennel. To lose a game like this to a team like Houston is inexcusable. I understand that sometimes there are upsets and you lose a tough game. This was not a tough loss. This was an embarrassing loss. And the problem is that there have been several this season. Nothing against you personally, Romeo. But from a fan’s perspective, you’re just not getting the job done.

I continue to be impressed with Brady Quinn though. Not just with his play on the field (obviously he didn’t have the best day), but his attitude toward the game and his team. I’ve never heard him try and make excuses by blaming others. He takes responsibility. He believes he’s good enough that he can help this team win, so when they don’t, he takes the blame. He could have made excuses for his poor performance this game, citing his broken finger, but he didn’t. And while he wants to start, he’s willing to do whatever he can to help the team win, even if it means backing up and supporting Anderson.

I hate that this talent and attitude is being wasted playing for a dysfunctional team. No, I don’t want Brady to go elsewhere. I want him to stay and start and have the Browns’ problems fixed. But I hope the problems get fixed soon before he decides it’s time to look for a way out of town.

Tags: Brady Quinn, Braylon Edwards, Derek Anderson, football, Houston Texans, scores

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 at 11:57 pm and is filed under Cleveland Browns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.